Tre Mason on possible return to football: ‘This is what I really want to do’

Tre Mason was going to be the next big running back in the NFL after a career at Auburn that saw him break Bo Jackson’s single-season rushing record, gaining 1,816 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2013.

He was taken in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams and earned a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie Team after a successful first season.

Then it all started to go wrong. A high-speed chase by police on an ATV led to an arrest. He was a no-show at Rams preseason camp before the 2016 season. He was then let go by the Rams and has been out of football since.

For Mason, having the game taken away has been hard.

“Of course it’s difficult to step away from something you’re so passionate about,” Mason told Bleacher Report. “This is what I really want to do. This is what I love to do. But it’s also, you have to be smart about the situation of ‘OK, I do know there are 32 teams in the NFL. Maybe one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’”

Mason is now trying to get back into the game, and the former SEC Offensive Player of the Year has big goals.

“People call Bo one of the best athletes of all time,” Mason said, “and I broke his record. That’s my mentality. I’m trying to be the greatest of all time. I believe in myself. If you think there are limits, you must not know the sky.”